5. All that was ancient history in 68

Nixon ran and lost in 60 when he was VP he then ran and lost for governor in 62 (You won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore) and then he was pretty much out of public life, "the wilderness years", until he ran again in 68 with a "secret plan" to win the war. You're right that it's hard to compare him to Romney but he was actually less of an inside guy in 68 than Romney is now.